OpenSource Blog's

The Firefox web browser empowers you to browse web pages faster, more safely, and more efficiently. Key features include pop-up blocking to stop those annoying ads, tabbed browsing to let you view multiple web pages in a single window, and opening links in the background so that they're ready for viewing when you're ready to read them. The toolbars are fully customizable. Don't like the default order of the buttons? Right click, select "customize" and drag that button where you want it.

You can expand Firefox's functionality using a wide variety of extensions. These offer you the ability to customize your web experience through automatic form completion, flash blocking, in-browser games, or development tools to help you study how web pages are made. There is also a range of themes available to let you alter the look of the browser. The easy transition system imports all of your settings, including favourites, passwords and other data from Internet Explorer and other browsers, so you can start surfing right away.

Possibly the best reason to start using Firefox is its enhanced security. Built with your security in mind from the start, Firefox keeps your computer safe from malicious spyware by preventing harmful ActiveX controls, and offers a comprehensive set of privacy tools keep your online activity private. In this age of rampant virus, trojan and phishing attacks, Firefox provides a secure alternative.
Version: 3.0.1

Thunderbird is a modern email client with features such as intelligent spam filters to stop you getting junk mail, a built-in spell checker, a range of themes and customisable layout. Thunderbird provides IMAP/POP support so you can link it with hotmail, gmail, yahoo and many others. It has HTML e-mail composing, quick searchs for old messages, an address book, autoaddress completion, import tools, and the ability to manage multiple e-mail and newsgroup accounts at the same time. You can add a wide variety of extensions to Thunderbird to add additional features or tweak its behaviour to suit your own preferences.

As with Mozilla Firefox, security is a central theme. Thunderbird provides business and government level security features such as S/MIME, digital signing, message encryption, support for certificates and security devices. The intelligent Thunderbird spam filter analyses your e-mails to identify those that are most likely to be junk. These can be automatically deleted or diverted to a separate folder. The spam filter is adaptive and also learns from your address book and usage to improve its accuracy.

Extra Requirements:none
Version: 2.0.0.12
Suitability:11+

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a way of finding out what is new on websites without having to check them yourself. Software that collects data from RSS sites (such as the BBC) are called RSS readers or "aggregators." RSSOwl is one of these. RSSOwl lets you gather, organize, update, and store information from any RSS capable site, easy to use interface, save selected information in various formats for offline viewing and sharing, and much more.

Find some interesting blog entries and news websites, bookmark them in RSSOwl, and you'll always have up-to-date information available on your computer without having to keep checking those websites.

Extra Requirements:none
Version: 1.2.4
Suitability:All

Pidgin is an Internet Messaging (chat) client that enables you to chat with other people across the internet. Examples include AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, IRC, Google talk and Jabber. Pidgin can talk to all of these at the same time, so if you have contacts on different networks, you can talk to them all from one easy to use program.

Pidgin uses the GTK+ library which is also available on this CD. Pidgin will not work without GTK+, so make sure to install GTK+ before installing Pidgin.

Pidgin supports many features, such as file transfer, away messages, buddy icons, typing notification, and MSN window closing notifications well as many unique features. Buddy Pounce can be used to notify you when a buddy signs on, goes away or returns from idle. There are also plugins available for text replacement, extended message notification, spell checking, tabbed conversations, and more. Pidgin integrates well with the Windows system tray, allowing you to work with Pidgin without requiring the buddy list window to be up at all times.

Pidgin uses the GTK+ library which is also available on this CD. Pidgin will not work without GTK+, so make sure to install GTK+ before installing Pidgin.

Extra Requirements:GTK+
Version: 2.4.1
Suitability:All

KompoZer is the open source world's answer to Macromedia's Dreamweaver and Microsoft Front Page. It is a fully featured What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) web page editor, enabling you to create professional web pages without having to devote months to learning HTML. KompoZer includes an integrated FTP site manager to upload your websites to your webspace, a style sheet editor, tabbed workspaces, and all the features you've come to expect from a fully-featured web page editor. Because KompoZer is built on top of the award-winning Gecko rendering engine that also powers the Firefox web browser, every moment is a live preview: what you see is truly what you get.

Extra Requirements:none
Version: 0.7.10
Suitability:All